Millions tune in to athletics broadcasts as Gout Gout attracts huge viewing numbers
Teenager helps draw 3.2m viewers across two free-to-air channels
Channel Nine peaks at 2m viewers for sprinter’s 200m heat in Tokyo
The debut of Gout Gout at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo was Australia’s most popular television program on Wednesday night, out-performing ratings juggernaut The Block, and drawing more than three million viewers across the unusual free-to-air double act of Channel Nine and SBS.
The Nine broadcast peaked at 2.2m viewers, securing the title of the evening’s highest rating programme ahead of The Block. Across Nine’s entire athletics broadcast, which finished close to midnight on the east coast, the audience averaged 519,000 viewers per minute.